Ten years ago, entrepreneur Anthony Katz sought to democratize recovery technology and empower athletes to care for their bodies. “At that time, athletes were not really implementing technology into their recovery—they were mostly doing things like ice baths, manual massages and icing their joints,” says Katz. “The technology that was being used back then was more for injury rehab and came in the form of medical devices that cost thousands of dollars and were mostly administered by training or medical staff, not the athlete themselves.” So, Katz founded Hyperice, a recovery and movement enhancement technology company specializing in vibration, percussion and thermal technology. Their first product was called the Hyperice, named after Kobe Bryant’s Nike Hyperdunk sneaker. Now, the Irvine-based brand’s technology is used by everyone from the world’s most elite professional athletes (think LeBron James, Naomi Osaka and Kelly Slater) to rehabilitation and fitness facilities around the world. “For the brand to work, we needed to create a suite of products that would be innovative, user-friendly, portable and accessible to as many people as possible,” says Katz.
Hyperice founder Anthony Katz
“It was clear that if the products were pro athlete-approved, anyone could benefit.” The company chose Southern California for its headquarters because the community is so active and health conscious. The brand is in global expansion mode, and its partnerships with the NBA and the Los Angeles Lakers have broadened the brand’s reach in Asia and Europe. In March 2020, Hyperice acquired Normatec, innovators of cutting-edge dynamic compression systems, and in December 2020 acquired RecoverX, pioneers of intelligent thermal technologies, to deliver world-class performance and wellness solutions. “Over the past few years, we’ve worked to move the technology from the locker room onto the field and now into the consumer’s homes,” says the brand’s CEO, Jim Huether.
